Flow chute for filling containers



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WALTER R ZWOYER A TOFZN EYS United States Patent Q FLOW CHUTE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Walter R. Zwoyer, Maywood, N. J., assignor to Package Machinery Company, East Longmeadow, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 8, 1955, Serial No. 526,922

1 Claim. (Cl. 193-32) This invention relates to a flow or discharge chute for filling containers having a restricted opening through which the containers are filled and more particularly to mechanism for controlling the flow of a measured charge of material along an inclined chute to the discharge end thereof.

In the process of packaging small articles of divers shapes such as individually wrapped candies, as Tootsie Rolls, candy kisses, miniature chocolate bars and similarly shaped items, it is common practice to have a unit weight charge of loose articles delivered en masse to an inclined chute having a discharge opening leading to an open bag or other formed container. Oftentimes the size of the opening of the discharge or filling spout leading to the interior of the bag or other container is not sufiicient to readily accept the full charge of material presented to it. Thus the articles tend to pile up and choke the port leading into the container and to form a tangled mass which will not flow through the chute into the container. Inasmuch as the empty containers of automatic package or bag-forming (or container-presenting) machines are successively presented in a timed sequence to a filling station the failure of the full unit charge to enter a container properly and efliciently for the subsequent bag-closing operation causes an interruption in the smooth operation of the machine and the need for the operator to shut down and clear the chute, plus the removal of any incompletely filled packages resulting from the pile-up at said discharge port.

An object of the present invention is thus to provide flow chute mechanism which will receive a full charge of small articles but will prevent any tendency of such articles to pile up at a chute discharge port formed to convey the articles into a restricted bag or container opening, where the opening is not of a size to accept the unit charge of material en masse.

The above and other specific objects and advantages will more clearly appear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a discharge chute with the present invention incorporated therein and a container filling mandrel shown at the lower end thereof; and

Fig. 2 is a top plan of the apparatus shown by Fig. 1.

In the drawings the upper receiving end of an inclined feed chute is indicated at 1. At this end the chute is adapted to receive a measured weight charge of material for gravity fiow to a lower end thereof, indicated by numeral 2, and formed in a generally triangular shape. Intermediate the top and bottom ends a pair of gates 3 and 4 are shown being fixed for swinging movement on a pair of pivot posts 5 and 6, the latter being positioned at opposite sides of the chute.

At 7 (see Fig. 2) is the discharge opening or port in the lower end of the inclined floor 8 of the chute bottom. The floor 8 may be suitably supported in its inclined position as by a pair of bracket irons 9 mounted on a platform table support 10.

The receiving end of the chute is also provided with a pair of upstanding side boards as at 11 and 12 suitably fixed at opposite edges of the fioor 8. As shown the lower ends of the sides 11 and 12 are convergently angled to lie adjacent the posts 5 and 6 at the upper edges of the triangularly shaped lower portion of the floor. Aligned with the inner edges of the sides 11 and 12 and spaced therefrom are the upper sides of a lower side wall member 13 enclosing the lower end of the chute. The forward curved portion of member 13 is seated on a circular plate 14 at the top or" a filling mandrel 15 mounted on platform 10. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art any suitable bag or container presenting means may be adapted to successively place the containers to be filled through the mandrel, such containers being positioned at the base thereof for a filling operation and discharge of the chute contents to the container.

Supporting mechanism for the gates 4 and 5 and parts associated therewith for swinging movement of the same include a pair of parallel spaced straps 16 and 17 afiixed at the underside of the floor 8 as by screws 18 and transversely above and below the opposed posts 4 and 5. The straps 16 and 17 at adjacent ends, laterally of the opposite edges of floor 8, are joined by angled cross plate supports 19 and 20 fixed at the underside of the straps as by screws indicated at 21 (Fig. 2). Shown at 22 and 23 (Fig. l) are shafts rotatably supported on the plates 19 and 2%. On the top of the shafts 22 and 23 the posts 5 and 6 are fixed. At the bottom of the shafts below the plates 19 and 2% are carried bevel gears 24 and 25.

As indicated by Fig. 1 plate supports 19 and 29 may be angled downwardly to provide depending legs as the leg 19 extending from the support 19. Rotatably supported and extending between such legs is a gate operating shaft 26 on which are fixed, adjacent the bevel gears 24 and 25, a pair of drive gears at 27 and 28 in mesh therewith. Thus, by turning shaft 26 the gears operate to swing gates 4 and 5 from a position transversely of the inclined path of the chute to a position in fiat relation against the upper portions of the side walls of the member 13.

Shaft 26 is actuated through a movable arm 29 which is anchored to it for rotation of the shaft. As shown the arm 29 is angled to extend laterally of the shaft axis and at its free outer end is provided with a plate 31 overlying a reciprocable actuator rod 3% The rod 30 may be vertically reciprocated by any suitable mechanism in response to the timed cycle of the machine and moves downwardly during the container filling portion of the machine cycle.

In the operation of the chute, as a container is presented at the lower end of the filling mandrel, the rod 39 is at its upper position and the gates 3 and 4- are set transversely of the chute. In this position of the parts the charge of material or articles to be packaged is dumped into the receiving end of the chute. The restricted passage between the inner edges of gates 3 and 4 permits some of the articles in the center of the floor 8 to immediately pass to the lower end where they may dribble in orderly fashion through the discharge opening 7 and into and through the filling mandrel to the container. As the flow of articles commences the gates 3 and 4 progressively swing towards the lower end of the chute as the pressure of the charge on the gates and the weight of arm 29 causes the latter to follow the downward movement of rod 30 to its lower position, bringing the gates to open position at the end of the filling portion of the cycle. The portion of material held back by the gates is thus gradually released to move past the end edges of the gates to the lower end of the chute. As the rod moves upwardly, following the filling of the container, it swings arm 29 upwardly and through shaft 26 and gears 27 and 24 return the gates to their original position. The rate of movement of the gates is, of course, gauged by the speed of the rod 30 and it will be appreciated that the rate of the latter may be suitably governed to be consistent with the particular character of the articles being packaged and flowing down the chute. In other words, the particular timing cycle to be applied to packaging various types of articles may require different speeds for an even flow to the discharge port.

Having described the invention, I claim:

A device for controlling the feed of measured charges of material to bags and the like which comprises a chute having an inclined floor adapted to receive a measured charge of material at its upper end and provided with a discharge opening at its lower end and upstanding side walls extending from said upper end convergently towards and tangentially around said discharge opening, gate members pivotally mounted on axes normal to said chute floor and at opposed sides intermediate the ends of said side Walls, the pivotally mounted gates being carried by pivot posts mounted substantially in the plane of said side walls and which extend below the floor of the chute with a gear Wheel fixed on each post, an operating shaft extending 4 between said posts under the chute with gears fixed thereon in mesh with said post gears, said shaft having a crank lever fixed thereon and means for progressively pivoting said gates to and from a position transversely of the chute and in the latter position the ends of said gates being spaced apart, said pivoting means comprising a reciprocable actuating member engaging with the outer end of said crank lever, said reciprocating member being movable to a position which allows said gate members to move to a position inflat relation against said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 676,761 Morris June 18, 1901 762,508 Weld June 14, 1904 778,300 Briggs Dec. 27, 1904 993,696 Manson a- May 30, 1911 1,129,880 McFarland Mar. '2, 1915 2,502,817 Graham Apr. 11, 1950 2,647,670 Cox --t. W Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 664,175 Germany Aug. 22, 1938 896,932 France Aug. 3, 1943 

